Content

Creation and pilot testing of StrokEngine: A stroke rehabilitation intervention website for clinicians and families

doi: 10.2340/16501977-0177

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: There is a gap in the translation of knowledge about stroke between researchers and clinicians. This paper describes the creation and pilot testing of an evidence-based stroke rehabilitation intervention website, StrokEngine (http://www.strokengine.org), which was designed to close this gap.DESIGN: A within-subject design was used to compare the usability and navigability of StrokEngine vs other search strategies/sites. Each participant searched a well-known stroke website, searched StrokEngine, and performed a free search, with the order of search randomized. A standard questionnaire was used to elicit information on usability and navigability across the 3 searches.SUBJECTS: A purposive sample of 19 rehabilitation clinicians from Montreal, Quebec, with varied stroke-related treatment experience.RESULTS: All 19 clinicians gave the highest usability score to StrokEngine (p<0.05): StrokEngine usability score (mean 43, SD 4) vs the Cochrane Library (mean 26, SD 8), the Royal College of Physicians website (mean 20, SD 5) and a general Internet search (mean 26, SD 7). CONCLUSION: This preliminary study on StrokEngine's usability and navigability suggests that it has the potential to be an asset for clinicians who wish to keep abreast of information on intervention effectiveness.